As I was looking at some of the photos I looked up some of the names on the crosses that have passed in recent history . . . I've seen all their photos before but it just seemed so much more poignant having just walked through the memorial. I hope every soldier we have knows how very much they are appreciated, and not just on Remembrance Day.
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I'm pretty sure we all know the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, I'd never heard the poem that was inspired by it, both are below.
In Flanders Fields by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
We Shall Keep the Faith by Moina Michael
Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
In Flanders Fields we fought
Quote:
In 1918 US professor Moina Michael, inspired by the poem, published a poem of her own in response, called We Shall Keep the Faith.[5] In tribute to the opening lines of McCrae's poem — "In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses row on row," — Michael vowed to always wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in the war.
I may not be a supporter of the war efforts of today, but there is no paying back the debt owed to those who gave their tomorrows for our todays.
Lest we forget.
__________________
"For thousands of years humans were oppressed - as some of us still are - by the notion that the universe is a marionette whose strings are pulled by a god or gods, unseen and inscrutable." - Carl Sagan Freedom consonant with responsibility.
I miss the ceremony at the Jubliee. I preferred it to the MOTR one as I found the latter to be far too imbued with religious imagery, plus the fact that it is officiated by a man of the cloth and not a military man. It has been years since I've been and it is possible that it has changed.
It is different here in the UK. Today is Armistice Day. But what people make a bigger deal out of is Remembrance Sunday. It still confuses me as some local towns and parishes have small ceremonies on 11/11, but the 'official' one seems to occur on the second Sunday in November.
It doesn't matter if you're American or Canadian, These both signify the absolute meaning of being free. God bless all of our American or Canadian soldiers fighting for the freedom of all of us!
Quote:
On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of
our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our
sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have
sacrificed so much so that we can live free.
Quote:
But this Veterans Day, I believe we should do more
than sing the praises of the bravery and patriotism that our veterans
have embodied in the past. We should take this opportunity to
re-evaluate how we are treating our veterans in the present.
__________________
Thank you for everything CP. Good memories and thankful for everything that has been done to help me out. I will no longer take part on these boards. Take care, Go Flames Go.
I'm pretty sure we all know the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, I'd never heard the poem that was inspired by it, both are below.
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.....
This reminds me that Lunchbox Theater downtown has a show running right now about John McCrae and is a tribute to our veterans.
Today I am remembering all the Canadians who lost their lives in service of our country.
In particular I remember my great great uncle Sgt. E A V "Ted" Palmer of the 26th Regiment CEF who survived the Somme, Passchendaele, and Vimy only to be killed by sniper while rescuing a comrade in no man's land in August 1918 at Amiens. He is buried at Sun Quarry Memorial Cemetery in Cherisy, France.
I also remember my grandfather Edward Palmer (nephew of the aforementioned Ted Palmer) today who died in 2008 and is interred at the National War Memorial Cemetery in Ottawa. He flew Lancs, Halifaxes, and Lysanders for the RAF No. 138 Squadron. I was at the Imperial War Museum a few weeks ago and they have a fuselage of a Halifax from that same squadron that you can go into--it may even have been one that my grandfather piloted.
I am proud of and grateful to them both. Lest we forget.
As a Canadian Forces member I am touched by the outpouring of support for Remembrance Day that I see here on CP. To me Remembrance Day has always held great importance to me as I have always been proud of the great Canadians who served and sacrificed for the freedoms and opportunities that I was offered as a Canadian youth... It was this pride that inspired me to want to join the CF and become part of the growing legacy of Canadian servicemen and women.
Throughout high school I could not wait for the time to come for me to join and upon graduation I was accepted as an Officer Cadet in the Armour Trade through the ROTP program. I moved on my own from Calgary to Ottawa where I know attend University and in the summer I work on the military training that will prepare me to be an officer in the Canadian Forces.
I have only been in the CF for 16 months, yet I am still extremely proud to be a part of the legacy of service and sacrifice. When I think of generations past I know that many who risked and sacrificed their lives for my freedoms I know that many of them were my age, and a large number were even younger. I am only 19 and still have two more years of school to accomplish, but I know that I will eventually have the opportunity to serve my country abroad like so many of my brothers and sisters have done before me, and continue to do today, I can only hope that I honour them with my service, and perhaps make them proud as well.... They are the reason that I joined the CF and my reason for being so proud to be a Canadian.
We Will Remember Them
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"These trees are living memorials of men who died for your freedom." - sign along Memorial Drive in Calgary.
Hug a veteran today.
I'll be remembering my grandfather, an immigrant gentleman farmer in the Pine Lake area who went back to England for WWI, enlisted as a private and lived to be a Captain, emerging from the conflict in spite of being wounded by gunfire and gas, with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Military Cross (MC).
Below is Riqueval Bridge on the St. Quentin Canal, near Bellinglise, France, likely the morning my grandfather led a charge across, cutting the leads to charges and bayonetting the defenders (as described in his medal recommendation) on Sept. 29, 1918. Saving the bridge allowed the advance to continue. You can still see the wires hanging from the bridge if you look close enough. For all I know, he might even be in the picture. One time when I was a boy, 50 years after that day, I asked him about the war and he began to cry. . . . . small wonder.
Ninety-two years after that day, the bridge is still standing today.
Considering all that happened to him, that he was basically on the front lines of World War 1 for much of the conflict, aside from convalescing from injuries, it seems rather fortunate I'm even around.
Remember a veteran today.
Cowperson
__________________
Dear Lord, help me to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. - Anonymous
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Why is this not a day off for everyone? I find it disgusting that malls,stock markets and non-essential workers have to go in to work and cannot pay their respects at the memorial services to the soldiers.
I was recently in Egypt and made a point to stop at the El Alamein war cemetary. It's a bit of an adventure getting there and out of there, since it's not a real town at all, there is no bus stop, basically all that is there is the war cemetary, a hotel that doesn't have any guests and the museum.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the Commonwealth War Memorial at El Alamein. If you get a chance to go, it is very nicely taken care of.
Also, I emplore you to attend one of the many ceremonies going on around the city today:
Quote:
Several events are being held in Calgary for Remembrance Day 2009. Last year, a record-breaking crowd at the Military Museums honoured soldiers past and present.
Here are some of the ceremonies in Calgary on Nov. 11:
The Military Museums, 4520 Crowchild Tr. S.W.
Ceremony starts at 10:50 a.m. Attendants should dress warmly and arrive before 10 a.m. as parking is limited. Free parking is available at the museum, as well as Centennial Arena, Masters' Academy, and the Calgary Farmers Market.
Containers will be provided for food donations to the Veterans Food Bank and for monetary donations to the Military Families Fund.
Central Memorial Park Cenotaph, 1221 Second St. S.W.
The ceremony, which starts at 11 a.m., will be led by the Calgary Highlanders.
Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 1415 14th Ave. N.W.
Ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m.
The Naval Museum of Alberta, HMCS Tecumseh, 1820 24th St. S.W.
Ceremony with naval cadets starts at 10:30 a.m.
Gulf Canada Square, 401 Ninth Ave. S.W.
Members of the Calgary 41st Brigade Group, the Calgary Highlanders and the Navy League Cadet Corps along with Canadian Pacific staff will participate in the ceremony which starts at 10:40 a.m.
Battalion Ridge, overlooking Westhills Towne Centre.
I'll be remembering my grandfather, an immigrant gentleman farmer in the Pine Lake area who went back to England for WWI, enlisted as a private and lived to be a Captain, emerging from the conflict in spite of being wounded by gunfire and gas, with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Military Cross (MC).
Did he ever tell you anything about when he was wounded by gas? Or was that something that was never discussed?
My Grandpa was only about 15 when the Nazis invaded Holland. His father and older brothers fought and he was left to care for his mother and sisters. He had to steal food to feed them, and couldn't always find enough.
His greatest memory was when the war was over, he was handed a chocolate bar by a Canadian soldier, signifying that they were free again.
He immigrated to Canada and started a family with my Grandma.
Almost hate to say this, but good on the Canucks canceling/delaying their morning skate in Ottawa today to attend the service at the National War Memorial this morning.
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Like others have mentioned, Remembrance Day is always a very emotional day for me. I literally cannot even fathom what my grandfather's generation (and even friends and peers) must have gone through.
My grandfather never had any war stories, as he never served overseas during the war. That was something that he always felt so ashamed about; that his friends and peers were carrying out their duty for their country, while he just sat at home. He obviously never liked talking about it much, because to him, he didn't really contribute much while he was in the service. Come to find out that during the war, he helped build the Alaska Highway, and actually spent a lot of time in Alberta and BC and the Yukon. When I came back from my first trip out West, showing him pictures of Banff and Edmonton, I remember he dug out his own pictures and started telling me stories of all the work he did and pointing to landmarks and buildings in my photos and telling me how they were built or what they used to look like. One of my favorite memories.
So today, not only am I remembering those who gave (and continue to give) their lives and their youth in defense of this country and of freedom, I'm also remembering those like my grandfather who felt they contributed so little, when in reality they were a very big reason why this country was able to contribute to the fight for freedom.
I live and grew up in an area called Montgomery Place here in Saskatoon.. it was built after the second World War as a low tax neighbourhood just outside of the city for war veterans.
Every street is named after a significant event, location or person. With plaques on every block giving a detailed description of the street name:
Quote:
The following streets are located in this area:
11th Street West, Caen Street, Arnhem Street, Normandy Street, Ortona Street, Merritt Street, Dieppe Street, Mountbatten Street, McNaughton Avenue, Elevator Road, Rockingham Avenue, Haida Avenue, Simonds Avenue, Cassino Avenue & Place, Crerar Drive, Crescent Boulevard, Lancaster Boulevard & Crescent, Bader Crescent, Dundonald Avenue, Chappell Drive.
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
Lest we forget those who work so diligently on their home soil to support the soldiers.
Lest we forget the civilians who have died as a direct result of war.
Lest we forget the sacrifices made by all sides, fighting for their respective countries.
I pray that history shows itself as a lesson and that never again will such horrible wars be fought.
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